Working Together

Q: Do young children have time to be social in a Montessori environment?

A: Yes! This is an integral part of the approach, allowing for more independence from the adult, providing conversations that can reveal new and different ideas, making for relationships that will support the child throughout the Elementary years.

A few illustrations from the Primary at Northwoods Montessori, the classes for children between the years of three and six:

Two young children, after preparing their own snack, sit down to enjoy it together, . . .

. . .and they enjoy the process of adding their dishes to the dishwasher afterwards.

Even the youngest children enjoy the Sandpaper Globe, the Political Globe pictured here, and the Puzzle Map of the World . . .

. . .and with the help of a slightly older child, it is possible to review the names of the continents, comparing the puzzle pieces to the continents on the Political Globe.

Here, two older children begin to build the Puzzle Map of Africa outside the frame on the mat. . .

. . .perhaps a daunting task without a friend to help with strategy. These children are sorting, assembling one area at a time.

It is true that very young children like to work alone. They like to have the freedom to repeat an activity until they are satisfied. They like to know that no one is going to take away their materials or tell them to stop. The Primary classes are full of little chattering noises, humming, singing and clucking of children working by themselves.

It’s also true that they like to work together. The conversations spoken quietly, whispered and carried through the room on the happy currents of discovery, add to that delightful hum. It is like a symphony of small voices speaking to the observer, even when the words are indistinguishable, of the peaceful world possible when all of us are working together.

There is a lot of talking and moving around in Montessori classrooms. What do you think could be the advantages of working together? How do you think it would feel to be a teacher surrounded by such a beehive of activity and sound?

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